“Disparate works mesh in a satisfying, moving show... the dance-oriented mixed bill "THISTHAT" at Green Street Studios this past weekend…is a testament to the vision and aesthetic of the concert's curator and producer, Daniel McCusker. The veteran dancer/choreographer believes all the program's works share a common concern for 'structure combined with the intuitive,' and hopes "THISTHAT" inaugurates a series of showcases bringing together kindred artistic spirits. I hope so, too." [Karen Campbell, Boston Globe]

“tHisTHat show #3” presents new and recent works by artists who focus on process, who are crafting open-ended, emotionally resonant, largely abstract works. Though various in form, what organizes these pieces into a coherent concert is the underlying narrative feel of all the works. All of the pieces are exploring something about the nature of movement, of dance, of performance and of how to communicate what those explorations have yielded. Some of the pieces are extremely beautiful and easy to watch. Some are task-like and present unusual structures that ask an audience to be willing to think and to see in an unfamiliar way in order to learn something new and have a satisfying experience.

Grounded as they are in the physical, the works on this program, created by Caitlin Corbett, Rick Fox, Ana Isabel Keilson, Sara Smith, Wanda Strukus, and Judith Wombwell, enable us to approach the unknown through the known, the abstract through the concrete and to see connections between things seemingly unrelated.

This is the third consecutive spring that dancer/choreographer Daniel McCusker has produced his “tHisTHat” showcase, paying tribute to some of the many kindred spirits who figure in McCusker’s lively artistic world. The yearly showcase has become a huge success, critically and otherwise, and is a much anticipated annual spring rite for lovers of local dance.

Quote:

”Boston’s dance showcases have often been motley affairs … Bring in a curator as seasoned as Daniel McCusker, however, and motley changes to melody. McCusker had been wondering how to shine a light on his own creative preoccupations as a dancemaker, concerns that include non-narrative dances that ‘require a mentally and emotionally active audience to imaginatively complete them. These are pieces that use form and structure to convey content.’ … he gathered some friends and associates and came up with a coherently beautiful ‘salon’ of dance and video works he called ‘tHisTHat Show No. 1’ at Green Street Studios in Cambridge. May there be No. 2, and No. 3, and up into double digits.”[Debra Cash, Boston Phoenix]

More background information:

Since 1994, Daniel McCusker has been part of the heart and soul of Boston’s vibrant dance community. He is a dancer, choreographer and educator, currently teaching modern dance, ballet, composition and special topics courses in the Department of Drama & Dance at Tufts University. Before moving to the Boston-area, McCusker directed Ram Island Dance in Portland, ME for seven years; and prior to that endeavor, while living in New York City, he performed on tour and in New York seasons with the Lucinda Childs Dance Company among others. More information on Daniel McCusker Dance Projects can be found at http://www.danielmccuskerdanceprojects.org/about.html.

Caitlin Corbett [dancer/choreographer] is the artistic director of Caitlin Corbett Dance Company, has presented work in the Boston area since 1984. Most recently, Caitlin received a Fulbright fellowship to teach and create new choreographic work in Helsinki, Finland in the spring of 2009. Caitlin received her BA from Bennington College where she studied with Martha Wittman and Judson choreographer Judith Dunn. She also holds a MFA from Massachusetts College of Art. Caitlin is a Professor at Salem State College where she teaches dance. http://www.caitlincorbettdance.org

Rick Fox [painter] lives and works in Somerville. Rick had the privilege of working with Daniel McCusker in tHisTHat 2008 and also as part of a team of lighting designers for the performance of “Variations in Four Spaces, Many People,” in 2006. As a part of tHisTHat 2010, Fox will present two pieces; “Beauty life…and other stories,” (a sequence of paintings/drawings made with spray paint and chalk on black paper,) and "Sign Intervention," (road sign narratives). To preview the work go to http://as16online.blogspot.com/2009/06/ ... k-fox.html.

Ana Isabel Keilson [dancer/choreographer] was born in Maine. Based in New York, Ana's work embodies the spirit and power of a new generation of D.I.Y performers and dance-makers. Her work has been presented by various venues in New York and New England, including Danspace Project's Food for Thought series at St. Mark’s Church, Judson Church, Dixon Place, the Movement Research Festival, Green Street Studios, the This/That Show #1, Bowdoin College (ME), The Putney School (VT), and Perishable Theater (Providence, RI). In 2009, Ana was a visiting artist with the Daghdha Dance Company (Ireland). As a freelance performer, Ana dances with luciana achugar; she has previously worked with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Co. and Daniel McCusker Dance Projects. Other projects (present/past) include: founder/director of the 'zine,' a free publication promoting the art and ideas of the NYC- based dance community; co-director of CLASSCLASSCLASS, a NYC teaching initiative that nurtures a continued future of dance pedagogy by engaging a new generation of dance and performance artists to teach their craft; film and video archivist for the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. Ana is a graduate of Barnard College with honors in English and Russian. http://www.anaisabelkeilson.com

Sara Smith [dancer/choreographer] is also a designer and archivist. In 2006, she returned to her native New England after ten years of living and choreographing in North Carolina and New York. Her choreography, installations and designs have been seen and heard at venues including The Brooklyn Museum, Catch!, Danspace Project, Dixon Place, Joyce SoHo, SPACE Gallery, St. Ann’s Warehouse, the St. Lawrence Arts Center and Ur, where she was an artist in residence in 2004. Sara's work has been supported by grants from the Maine Arts Commission, Mary Duke Biddle Foundation and LEF Foundation among others. She holds an MFA in Dance from Sarah Lawrence College where she studied with Sarah Rudner and is a lifetime member of the Mole Cabal in which capacity she has collaborated frequently with Karinne Keithley. This past fall she participated in the Emerging Artist program at Green Street Studios.

Wanda Strukus [dancer/choreographer] dances with Daniel McCusker Dance Projects and directs, choreographs, and performs physical theater and dance in traditional and site-specific settings. She teaches at Green Street Studios and Northeastern University, and is an alumna of the Jacob's Pillow Choreographer/Director Lab in dance- theater. With Kyna Hamill and Two Roads Performance Projects (tworoads.org), she co-directs Dance in the Fells: 5 Pieces, 5 Places, a festival of site-specific dance-theater in the Middlesex Fells. An earlier version of Game for 6 Dancers & 70 Books was developed and produced through a Green Street Studios Emerging Artist Award.

Judith Wombwell [choreographer] has been running the dance program at Phillips Academy in Andover, Ma since 1995. During this time her students have performed numerous times at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and have performed works by Mark Morris, Doris Humphrey and Trisha Brown. She hails from Memphis, TN where she worked for Ballet Memphis as dancer, choreographer and Ballet Mistress and where she also co- founded the modern dance collective Project: Motion. Judith has been choreographing for over 30 years and by establishing Deadfall Dance she hopes to nurture a group of dancers interested in exploring movement in innovative ways. http://www.jwombwell.com/dfweb.html

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